August 1941: As war sweeps across Britain and millions of men enlist to serve their country, it’s up to the women to fight the battle on the home front.
Fran always thought she would marry her childhood sweetheart and lead a simple life in Massingham, the beloved pit village she has always called home.
But with war taking so many men to the front line, the opening of a new factory in the north-east of England presents an opportunity for Fran to forge a new path.
Against her father’s wishes and with best friends Sarah and Beth by her side, Fran signs up to join the ranks of women at the factory. It’s dangerous work but as the three friends risk life and limb for their country, they will discover that their lives are only just beginning…
I knew this was going to be good when I started holding my breath, not daring to cough or sneeze. You’ll have to read it to understand why!
Fran, Sarah and Beth have been pals since childhood, growing up in a mining community in the north east of England. Due to the skilled writing, I was in the factory with those girls from the start. Annie Clarke really brings to life the stark choices people made during wartime. For the whole time I was reading, I kept thinking that I couldn’t do what these girls did. But everyone was doing their bit for the war effort in so many different ways, and Girls on the Home Front explores why people made the choices they did.
The girls’ fathers, brothers and boyfriends work in the mines and, thanks to the wonderful descriptions you really do wonder how any man could do that job – and yet thousands did, and not just in wartime. It serves as a contrast to the dangers the girls themselves are in.
What I enjoyed most was the sense of community that Annie Clarke describes so vividly, the tiny details that paint such a vast picture of life as it was then, and the feeling of people pulling together when times were tough.There’s such a strong sense of place that I felt I knew Massingham and had been picnicking by the beck with the characters.
Beautifully written, the warmth shines from every page and the layers are as deep and rich as the coal seams the men work upon. Storytelling at its best. The camaraderie makes you long for a connection that I think we have lost today. Online communities can’t replace what you’ll find within these pages.
Totally unputdownable. I feel bereft until I meet the characters again.
Published by Arrow £6.99